Session 3: Where signs of hope are needed today, part 1

Everywhere we look in our world, hope is desperately needed.  People everywhere are suffering.  No one seems more aware of the magnitude of the suffering than Pope Francis.  The whole world is his flock, and he calls on us to care as he cares.  In the third section of Spes Non Confundit, Pope Francis discusses the many areas of people’s lives where greater hope is needed and what we can do about it.  We will explore these areas over the next three sessions, starting with the difficult issues of war, the need to build a society where people want to welcome children into the world, and how to treat people in prison with dignity and respect.

Our study guide questions will help us explore ways that leaders can work for peace in our world, but also ways we can be peacemakers in our own lives.  We will also explore ways to encourage young people to be open to starting families, and ways that our justice system could do more to honor the human dignity of all people.  It is our calling and privilege to bring God’s hope to all people, even in the most challenging circumstances.

Read paragraphs 7-10 in preparation for this session.

(Section 3) Signs of hope

In paragraphs 7 through 15, Pope Francis discusses 8 areas of social life where hope is especially needed in our time.  Where he provides scriptural references, we will explore them.  Where he does not, we will look at Scripture passages that clearly speak to the concerns he raises.

Paragraph 7 (signs of the times) 🔗

Pope Francis uses the term “signs of the times.”  To read the signs of the times means to examine what is going on in the real world around us.  Pope Francis recalls that the Second Vatican Council document Guadium et Spes (“Joy and Hope”) reminds the Church to interpret those “signs” in the light of the Gospel.  That is what we will do in the next few sessions.

Why is it important to use the Gospel in interpreting what is happening in our world today?

Pope Francis does not want us to recognize only the challenges we face but also “the immense good present in our world” and “the yearning of human hearts” (par. 7).  Why is it valuable to start by seeing the good and the desire for good, as we consider areas where people are suffering?

Paragraph 8 (peace and war) 🔗

Pope Francis says the first sign of hope is the desire for peace amidst war.  He finds it baffling, or perhaps shocking, that world leaders have not done more to resolve the many regional wars that are causing so much death and destruction around the world.  He offers the Beatitudes as the starting point for discerning how to address the immense suffering caused by so many wars.

Read Matthew 5:9

Who does Jesus call “blessed” in Matthew 5:9?

What is a “peacemaker”?  Jesus doesn’t bless those who “wish for” peace but those who are peacemakers.  What steps are required to be the kind of person who helps make peace?

What is the vision of hope that God would want us to have as we respond to the wars that plague our world?

What does Pope Francis want world leaders to do, in order to try to secure a lasting peace?

Pope Francis mentions diplomacy.  What is the role of diplomats and diplomacy in working for a lasting peace?  Why are they important?

In what ways can we encourage our leaders and diplomats to be peacemakers?

Our leaders are not the only ones who need to be peacemakers.  Pope Francis says, “The need for peace challenges us all.”  We need to be peacemakers in our own lives – in our families, in our relationships, in our political conversations, in our workplaces, in our social media posts, in our parishes, etc.

What are some concrete steps you can take to be a peacemaker in some area of your life where peacemaking may not always be your first impulse?

It is hard to be a peacemaker if you do not have peace in your heart. How can you cultivate an inner peace at the core of your being?

Suggested Activity: 

• Explore the work of Pax Christi USA, a membership organization of Catholics working to promote peace and nonviolence and resist war, violence, domination, and racism.  You can check to see if there is a local chapter of Pax Christi USA near you.  Pax Christi USA is a member of Pax Christi International, a global Catholic peace movement.

Paragraph 9 (welcoming children) 🔗

Why might Pope Francis be concerned that many young adults don’t want children?

In the first part of paragraph 9, what are the societal issues Pope Francis identifies as reasons why people are less open to parenthood in our time?

Read Psalm 127:3

In what ways are children a “gift” or “heritage” we receive from God?

How is having children a result of hope?  How does it also lead to additional hope?

Pope Francis calls for a “social covenant” – i.e., public policies – that will help young adults embrace bringing children into the world.  How might we do this in a way that is “inclusive and not ideological” and avoids making young adults feel pressured to have children?

Paragraph 10 (prisoners) 🔗

In paragraph 10, Pope Francis asks us to think about people in prisons.  What does he ask governments to do with regard to prisoners?

In the second part of paragraph 10, Pope Francis quotes from Leviticus 25:10 and Isaiah 61:1-2 as a basis for proposing programs that would reintegrate prisoners into the community.  Why might this be a worthwhile goal?  What might be the positive effect of developing well-planned programs to do this?

Pope Francis calls on Christians to demand dignified conditions for prisoners and respect for their human rights.  Why do prisoners have a right to be treated with dignity despite their crimes?  What is it about our faith that demands that they be treated with dignity?

Suggested Activities: 

• Find a Catholic prison ministry (through your diocese or online) that has a pen pal program for writing letters to a prisoner, and consider becoming a pen pal.

• Do some research about the treatment of prisoners in your local prisons and jails.  If you find that they are being subjected to degrading or inhumane treatment or unsafe living conditions, contact a public official to express your concern.

Throughout the Bible, people of God are unfairly imprisoned; for example, Joseph (Genesis 39); Jeremiah (Jer. 37-38); Shadrack, Meshack, and Abednego (Dan. 3); Daniel (Dan. 6); John the Baptist (Luke 3); Peter and other apostles (Acts 5); and Paul and Silas (Acts 16).

Toward the end of the second part of paragraph 10, Pope Francis reminds us of the Church’s opposition to the death penalty, which is discussed in paragraph 2267 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.  You can read a statement of the Church’s position on capital punishment at “New Revision of Number 2267” (The Vatican, 1 Aug. 2018).

Why does Pope Francis say that the death penalty “eliminates all hope of forgiveness and rehabilitation” (par. 10)?

Why does the Roman Catholic Church oppose capital punishment?  How is it "at odds with Christian faith" (par. 10)?

Read John 8:1-11

In the story usually called “The Woman Caught in Adultery,” scribes and Pharisees come to Jesus and seek his approval to execute a woman.  They want Him to join them in condemning her to death.  He refuses.  How is His response – “Neither do I condemn you” – a rejection of the death penalty?

Why would God want us to preserve the life even of criminals?

What can we do to help our society respect every human life, including the lives of prisoners?

How can the way we treat prisoners become a sign of hope in our society?

Suggested Activity: 

• Explore the work of Catholic Mobilizing Network, an organization that uses education, advocacy, and prayer in its efforts to end the death penalty, promote responses that provide justice and support human dignity for both those who have been harmed and those who have caused harm, and foster approaches such as restorative justice that promote healing.

Closing questions: In these paragraphs, Pope Francis explores problems where we might be tempted to think, “That’s just the way the world is.”  He invites us instead to envision a different world that is guided by respect for the value and dignity of every human being.

• What are the commonalities in these problems: war, the hesitation to have children, and the harshness of prisons?  How are the similar at a root level?

• What are the commonalities in the alternatives: peacemaking, welcoming children, and granting freedom to prisoners?  How are they similar at a root level?

• What are the values or mindsets we are called to have, that would help us take the approach of hope as we confront these issues?